Display strip with non-hanging product attachment

ABSTRACT

A point of purchase display strip formed from a single sheet has unitary product attachment features that support the products from their undersides as well as wrap around edges of the products to retain them to the display strip without suspending them. The attachment features may include arch shaped flaps that are arranged in sets to capture the top and bottom edges of a product or two or more corners of a product. The attachment features may also include a single ledge near the bottom of the strip that supports stacked products retained at their side edges by vertically extending straight or bent flaps. The attachment features can be arranged to support and retain products at both front and back faces of the display strip.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/485,275 filed Jul. 7, 2003.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT SPONSORED DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to product displays and in particular to productdisplay strips in which the displayed products are supported fromunderneath rather than suspended from the strip.

Producers and suppliers of goods seek to have their products displayedin prominent locations in an eye-catching manner likely to attractconsumers. Retail outlets typically wish to maximize the quantity ofproducts displayed for sale, and thus, premium shelf and floor space islimited. One way to increase the available space for display of certainproducts in high traffic areas, such as aisle end caps and check outlanes, is to attach the products to display strips. Such stripstypically mount to the front of a shelf and sometimes project out intothe aisle to make them more visible.

Many conventional product display strips have numerous hangers on whichthe products are suspended. One example of such a product display stripcan be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,690. This display strip includes avertical support that mounts to the front of shelving and holds a wirebracket suspending a metal strip. The strip has a number of verticallyspaced tabs or tongues cut out at all but one side on which the productsare hung. Each tongue is bent at angle away from the strip so thatproducts can hang on the strip by simply slipping the tongue in a slotformed in the product package.

Such devices require separate mounting hardware and connecting tabs thatare oriented vertically in the direction of elongation of the strip sothat the attached products cannot readily fall from the strip. However,when the display strip is tipped forward or sideways the products canreadily fall off of the strip. Moreover, when the tabs are oriented thisway, the products must be lifted up and slid off of the tongues, whichis likely to dislodge one or more products suspended above the selectedproduct, since it is customary to overlap adjacent products mounted onsuch strips.

Conventional hanging product display strips are also disadvantageousbecause they require the products being displayed to be adapted forhanging, such as by attaching a hanger to the product or by havingpackaging with a hanger feature. And, because the products aresuspended, they are susceptible to falling from the display and beingdamaged, for example in the event the hanger breaks or the hanger is notproperly seated on the hook. This problem is exacerbated when thedisplay is loaded with many products suspended closely together andoverlapping each other (as is common), which makes it likely that theconsumer will inadvertently knock off one or more products adjacent theproduct being taken from the display.

Accordingly, a product display strip is desired with an improvedconstruction for supporting and retaining products to the display strip.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect the invention provides a product display strip formed of asingle elongated sheet extending from a top end to a bottom end andhaving a plurality of slits defining at least one product rest forsupporting at least one product from an underside and defining at leastone non-hanging product retainer for contacting without suspending theat least one product at a portion other than its underside so as toresist separation of the at least one product from the sheet.

In one preferred form multiple products are held on the display strip atthe top and bottom of each product or product packaging. Preferably, theslits in the sheet define sets of product rests and product retainers.The sets are spaced apart along the strip from top to bottom with eachproduct rest closer to the bottom end of the strip than its associatedproduct retainer. Each product rest and product retainer is hinged tothe sheet parallel to each other and essentially perpendicular to thedirection between the top and bottom ends of the strip. Preferably, eachproduct rest and product retainer is arch shaped and are pivoted awayfrom the same face of the sheet in opposite directions to secure theproduct to the strip.

In another preferred form the products are attached to the display stripat the corners, preferably at diagonal corners for two sided displays orat all four corners for single sided displays. The rests and retainersare arch shaped, with the product rests below the product retainers andarranged to be hinged at an oblique angle (such as 45 degrees) withrespect to the length of the display strip to capture the corners of theproducts.

In still another preferred form the products are stacked one on top ofanother with the bottommost product resting directly on a single productrest near the bottom end of the display strip, which thus indirectlysupports all of the products on the strip. Preferably, the rest isformed with fold down walls that provide a gusset contacting the stripand supporting it essentially perpendicular to the strip. The strip isformed with multiple product retainers spaced between the rest and thetop end of the sheet. The retainers are hinged to the sheet in paralleland extending in the direction between the top and bottom ends of thesheet. Preferably, the product retainers define sets of straight or bentflaps spaced apart in the direction perpendicular to the directionbetween the top and bottom ends of the sheet, in the case of bent flapsdefining two inwardly opening channels, receiving the at least oneproduct therebetween.

Thus, the present invention provides an improved product display stripin which, rather than being hung, the products are supported fromunderneath and retained along one or more top, bottom or side edges.This ensures that the products are securely supported and retained tothe strip. The display strip of the present invention can be made of asingle sheet construction with the rest and retainer features being aunitary part of the sheet formed by simply cutting slits into the sheetand folding the features out away from the sheet. As such, the displaystrip is easily customizable so as to be of any capacity and accommodatea wide variety of sizes and configurations of products or productpackages. Since they are in sheet form, the are readily printed on andcan be cut to any desired size or shape. It can also be efficientlymanufactured on automated lines, requiring no assembly or manualprocesses. Multiple display strips can be sold and shipped in stackswith the retailer needing only to fold out the attachment features andattach the products to the individual strips.

The advantages of the invention will appear from the followingdescription. In this description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and in which there are shown by way ofillustration preferred embodiments of the invention. These embodimentsdo not represent the full scope of the invention. Thus, the claimsshould be looked to in order to ascertain the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a display strip with non-hangingproduct attachment features according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention with products on display shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a front plan view of a blank for the display strip of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a display strip according toanother embodiment of the present invention again with products ondisplay shown in phantom;

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of a blank for the display strip of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a display strip according to yetanother embodiment of the present invention again with products ondisplay shown in phantom;

FIG. 8 is a front plan view of a blank for the display strip of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a front plan view of still another embodiment of the displaystrip of present invention similar to the preceding embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view take along line 11-11 of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first embodiment of a point of purchase display 10A according to thepresent invention is shown in FIGS. 1-3 to have two attachment featuresfor each product, a bottom one on which the product rests and a top onecapturing the top edge of the product. A second embodiment 10B is shownin FIGS. 4-6, being similar to the previous embodiment, however, havingtwo attachment features supporting and retaining two diagonal or allfour corners of the product. A third embodiment 10C is shown in FIGS.7-9 in which the products are stacked vertically, supported by a singlerest at the bottom of the strip and retained at side edges. FIGS. 10-11show an embodiment 10D similar to the preceding embodiment but with aslightly different product retainers.

All four embodiments have in common that they include a display strip12A-12D of single sheet construction, preferably a paperboard or plasticsheeting, with the attachment features being defined by slits cut intothe sheet. Preferably, the slits are formed with a punch cut techniquewithout removing material. In addition, all four embodiments supportproducts 14A-14D from underneath and retain them by capturing one ormore top, bottom or side edges. None of the embodiments described hereinsuspend the products on the display strips 12A-12D. Note, however, thedisplay strips 12A-12D themselves are intended to be suspended.

More specifically, each embodiment is preferably in strip form having anarrow-width, elongated configuration extending from a top end 16A-16Dto a bottom end 18A-18D between opposite sides 20A-20D and 22A-22D.Preferably, there is a display area 24A-24D free of attachment features,such as near the top end 16A-16D, where printing or decals can be placedcontaining text and graphics promoting the associated products. Also,preferably, the display strip 12A-12D includes some type of mountingfeature, which in one form can be a simple hole 26A-26D for suspendingthe display strip 12A-12D from a clip, nail or other post like element.Other mounting features (not shown), such as adhesives, magnets, orclips, can be attached at any suitable location, such as at the backside of the sheet slightly above center.

The primary difference between the embodiments is the configuration,number, orientation and location of the attachment features, which forall embodiments include at least one product rest 28A-28D and at leastone product retainer 30A-30D.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the product display 10A is designed to bedouble-sided, that is to display products 14A at both front and backfaces of the display strip 12A. Each product 14A is individually held onthe strip by match pairs of product rests 28A and retainers 30A. Thesets are spaced apart along the length of the strip 12A. The rests 28Aand retainers 30A have an identical arch or rainbow shape having endshinged to the strip sheet along lines parallel to each other andperpendicular to the direction between the top 16A and bottom 18A ends.As shown in FIG. 2, the strip sheet is cut to define from bottom to toptwo upwardly arched product rests 28A and two downwardly arched productretainers 30A spaced vertically so that the spacing between the uppermatched pair of rest 28A and retainer 30A is the same as the spacingbetween the lower matched pair of rest 28A and retainer 30A andessentially the same as the length (or height) of the product 14A (orproduct package) to be displayed. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower pair ofproduct rest 28A and product retainer 30A can hinge away from the stripsheet toward the front face of the strip and the upper pair of productrest 28A and product retainer 30A can hinge toward the back face of thestrip. Note that because the product retainers 30A are inverted withrespect to the product rests 28A, they will hinge or fold out in theopposite (in this case counterclockwise) direction as the associatedproduct rest 28A.

Two products 14A can be displayed at nearly the same (slightly offsetvertically) height on the display strip 12A at the front and back faces.This arrangement is repeated along the length of the strip, three moretimes in the preferred embodiment shown to define four matched pairs ofproduct rests 28A and retainers 30A at each face of the strip (see FIGS.1 and 2). As shown in FIG. 3, the underside of each product 14A will besupported from underneath by the product rest 28A which will alsocapture the bottom edge, particularly if the product rest 28A is hingedto be less than perpendicular to the strip sheet. And, the top edge ofthe product 14A will be captured by the product retainer 30A.Preferably, the product rests 28A and retainers 30A in each pair will bespaced so that the product 14A (or its package) abuts or lies very nearthe hinge areas so that there is little play when the product 14A isattached to the strip 12A. Note that, depending on the composition ofthe sheet material selected for the display strip 12A, internal stressesin both the product rests 28A and retainers 30A may tend to return themto their original pre-cut position, thereby acting to close in on theproducts and further resist separation of the products 14A from thestrip 12A.

A product 14A can be quickly and easily installed on the display strip12A by folding down a rest 28A and setting the bottom edge of theproduct 14A on top of it. Then, the associated retainer 30A is folded upso that the product 14A can fit beneath it with the back of the product14A against the display strip 12A. After it they are released, gravityand/or internal stresses will cause each rest 28A and retainer 30A tobend inwardly onto the bottom or top edge of the product 14A. Theproduct 14A can be removed simply by pulling it away from the strip 12Aeither straight out or at an angle. The product rest 28A and retainer 30(and possibly the product/packaging) will flex momentarily to free theproduct 14A. Note that depending on the configuration of the product 14Aor its packaging it may be possible to install and remove a product 14Aby sliding it sideways until its top and bottom edges are free from theproduct rest 28A and retainer 30.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-6, the second embodiment 10B has product rests28B and retainers 30B that are of a similar but slightly smaller archshape and in a different arrangement on the strip 12B so as to supportand capture the corners of the product 14B. In particular, each productrest 28B and retainer 30B is oriented at an oblique angle, such asapproximately 45 degrees, to the length of extension of the strip 12Bbetween the ends 16B an 18B. Like the preceding embodiment, here theproduct rests 28B and retainers 30B are arranged in matched sets,preferably pairs or sets of four. Going from bottom to top, there arealternating rows of two product rests 28B and two product retainers 30Bspaced apart vertically the height of the product 14B. The two productrests 28B in each row are spaced apart laterally, oriented 90 degreesapart, and arched upward and inward. The two product retainers 30B ineach row are spaced apart laterally the same as the product rests 28B,oriented 90 degrees apart, and arched downward and inward. In this waydiagonal product rests 28B and retainers 30B are hinged to the stripsheet essentially parallel to each other. In the preferred embodimentshown, there are four rows of each of the product rests 28B andretainers 30B defining four groups of attachment features.

If products 14B are to be displayed at only one face of the displaystrip 12B, each product will be held by two product retainers 30B at itsupper two corners and supported underneath by two product rests 28B atits lower two corners. Alternatively, and more preferably, when products14B are displayed at both the front and back faces of the display strip12B, each product 14B is held at one lower corner by one product rest28B and a diagonal upper corner by one product retainer 30B. In thisway, two products 14B can be displayed at essentially the same height(without vertical offset) at both faces of the display strip 12B. Likeabove, the preferred embodiment shown can thus hold eight products, fourat each face. The products are installed and removed in much the sameway as described above, differing only in that the rests 28B andretainers 30B capture the corners of the products 14B, rather than thetop and bottom edges.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, this embodiment 10C is designed for theproducts 14C to be stacked directly one on top of each other so that theentire stack of products 14C can be supported for underneath by a singleproduct rest 28C located near the bottom of the display strip 12C. Thesingle, generally triangular, product rest 28C is hinged to the strip12C essentially perpendicular to the direction between the top 16C andbottom 18C ends. The product rest 28C has one or more (shown with two)fold down walls 40C that act as a gusset, contacting the strip 12C andsupporting the rest 28C to keep it generally perpendicular to the strip12C. Here, the rest 28C will act more as a shelf or ledge and notcapture the bottom edge of the abutting product 14C.

The product retainers 30C here are also configured and arrangeddifferently. In particular, the retainers 30C take on a rectangular flapconfiguration, being attached to the strip sheet along only one edge andbent approximately 90 degrees to define a channel 42, preferably ofthickness approximately equal to the side edges of the products beingdisplayed (see FIG. 9). Note that a perforated or non-perforated foldline can be formed during manufacturing to define the bend. Theretainers 30C are oriented vertically along the strip 12C and arrangedin two columns symmetric about the vertical centerline of strip 12C sothat the channels 42 open toward each other. There could be two fulllength parallel retainers 30C, or multiple same or various sizedvertically aligned retainers 30C, as shown. Having columns of multipleretainers 30C is preferable because it facilitates loading and removalof the products 14C. Also, depending on the product configuration, thebottom edges of the retainers 30C can act as a rest surface to directlysupport the underside of products 14C located higher up on the strip12C. In either case, the retainers 30C need to be spaced vertically fromthe rest 28C no more than the height of the product 14C.

The number of products 14C that this embodiment will hold depends on theheight of the products as well as the height and quantity of vertical“slots” formed by the columns of product retainers 30C. The embodimentillustrated in the drawings is single sided, however, like theembodiments described above, this could be made two sided by including asecond set of product rests and retainers bent out away from the backface of the strip 12C.

Products 14C can be loaded by sliding them down the slot formed betweenthe channels 42 of the product retainers 30C one at a time, with thebottom product sitting directly on the product rest 28C and additionalproducts stacked one on top of another. The products 14C can be removedby sliding the uppermost product 14C upward toward the top end 16C untilfree of the retainers 30C. Alternatively, the products 14C, especiallythe bottommost product 14C, could simply be pulled away from the strip12C with the retainers 30C flexing out of the way.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, this embodiment 10D is very similar tothe preceding embodiment 10C with the principal exception being theconfiguration of the product retainers 30D. Here, the retainers 30D aresimple vertical flaps (with no bends) so that they tend to press theproducts toward the strip 12D. Also, the retainers 30D have atrapezoidal configuration. As shown in FIG. 10, one or more retainers30D (the longer lower two) can have the tips cut off to reduce thelikelihood of getting snagged during loading and removal of the products14D. Otherwise, this embodiment 10D has all the features of thepreceding embodiment including being able to display products at one orboth faces and including a single product rest 28D with a supportgusset, albeit here formed by a single fold down wall 40D.

Thus, the present invention provides an improved product display stripin which, rather than being hung, the products are supported fromunderneath and retained along one or more top, bottom or side edges.This ensures that the products are securely supported and retained tothe strip. The display strip of the present invention can be made of asingle sheet construction with the rest and retainer features being aunitary part of the sheet formed by simply cutting slits into the sheetand folding the features out away from the sheet. As such, the displaystrip is easily customizable so as to be of any capacity and accommodatea wide variety of sizes and configurations of products or productpackages. Since they are in sheet form, the are readily printed on andcan be cut to any desired size or shape. It can also be efficientlymanufactured on automated lines, requiring no assembly or manualprocesses. Multiple display strips can be sold and shipped in stackswith the retailer needing only to fold out the attachment features andattach the products to the individual strips.

While there have been shown and described what is at present consideredto be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can bemade to the described embodiments without departing from the scope ofthe present invention. For example, the particular shape of the productrests and retainers can be altered significantly, for example, beinground, square, triangular or any other suitable shape than an arch orrectangular or trapezoidal flap. Accordingly, to ascertain the fullscope of the invention, reference must be had to the following claims.

1. A product display strip comprising a single elongated sheet extendingfrom a top end to a bottom end and having a plurality of slits definingat least one product rest for supporting at least one product from anunderside and defining at least one non-hanging product retainer forcontacting without suspending the at least one product at a portionother than its underside so as to resist separation of the at least oneproduct from the sheet.
 2. The display strip of claim 1, wherein theproduct retainer contacts a top side of the at least one product.
 3. Thedisplay strip of claim 1, wherein the product retainer contacts a sideedge extending between the underside and a top side of the at least oneproduct.
 4. The display strip of claim 1, wherein the display strip hasa front face and a back face and wherein there is at least one productrest and at least one product retainer at each of the front and backfaces.
 5. The display strip of claim 1, wherein the slits define matchedsets of product rests and product retainers.
 6. The display strip ofclaim 5, wherein the sets are spaced apart along the strip in thedirection between the top and bottom ends of the sheet.
 7. The displaystrip of claim 5, wherein each of the sets includes one product rest andone product retainer located on the sheet closer to the top end than theproduct rest.
 8. The display strip of claim 7, wherein the product restand the product retainer of each set pivot away from a same face of thesheet in opposite directions.
 9. The display strip of claim 8, whereineach product rest and product retainer is arch shaped.
 10. The displaystrip of claim 8, wherein each product rest is hinged to the sheetessentially parallel with each product retainer.
 11. The display stripof claim 10, wherein each product rest is oriented essentiallyperpendicular to the direction between the top and bottom ends of thesheet.
 12. The display strip of claim 11, wherein each product rest isoriented at an oblique angle to the direction between the top and bottomends of the sheet.
 13. The display strip of claim 1, having a singleproduct rest proximate the bottom end of the sheet and multiple of theproduct retainers spaced between the rest and the top end of the sheetsuch that multiple of the products can be stacked one on top of anotherand supported by the product rest and retained by the product retainers.14. The display strip of claim 1, wherein the at least one product restand the at least one product retainer are each hinged to the sheet alongat least one edge so that they can be pivoted with respect to the sheet.15. The display strip of claim 1, wherein the at least one product restand the at least one product retainer are the same shape.
 16. Thedisplay strip of claim 15, wherein the at least one product rest and theat least one product retainer are arch shaped.
 17. The display strip ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one product rest is oriented essentiallyperpendicular to the direction between the top and bottom ends of thesheet.
 18. The display strip of claim 17, wherein the at least oneproduct retainer is oriented to extend essentially in the directionbetween the top and bottom ends of the sheet.
 19. The display strip ofclaim 18, wherein the at least one product retainer includes two flapsspaced apart in the direction perpendicular to the direction between thetop and bottom ends of the sheet
 20. The display strip of claim 19,wherein the spaced apart flaps are bent to define two inwardly openingchannels receiving the at least one product therebetween.